The present invention relates to a headlight device for a vehicle.
Headlight devices are known in the art. One of such devices is disclosed for example in the German patent document DE 197 29 826. This headlight device has at least two headlights, with which correspondingly a screen light bundle with an upper bright-dark limit is emitted. The light bundle emitted by both headlights are identical and their bright-dark limits have different portions on the traffic side and on the counter traffic side. The portion of the bright-dark limit arranged on the counter traffic side is deeper than the portion arranged at the traffic side. The portion of the bright-dark limit arranged at the traffic side extends starting from its portion on the counter traffic side at least over a part of its extension in a raising manner. Because of this course of the bright-dark limit a sufficient range of the light bundle emitted by the headlight at the traffic side is provided with simultaneous prevention of a blinding of the opposite traffic. For producing the high beam, in this headlight device separate high beam headlight is connected and light bundles emitted by both above mentioned headlights are lifted so that by then also the far region in front of the vehicle is illuminated. During driving with high speed on speed way, due to the lifting of the light bundle provided by the known headlight device, also an improved illumination of the far region in front of the vehicle is obtained, wherein due to the absent counter traffic it is not blinded. However, the problem occurs that the forwardly driving vehicle driver is unpermissibly intensely blinded by the light reflected by its rear mirror and emitted by the headlight of the rearwardly driving vehicle.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a headlight device of the above mentioned general type which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art.
In keeping with these objects and with others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of present invention resides, briefly stated, in a headlight device in which light beams with different bright-dark limits are emitted by at least two headlights, a first light beam emitted by at least one first headlight is provided with a bright-dark limit having a portion on a traffic side which is higher than the portion of the bright-dark limit at the traffic side of the second light bundle emitted by at least one second headlight, and a direction of the second light beam is changeable so that the position of its bright-dark limit is changeable at least in a vertical direction.
When the headlight device is designed in accordance with the present invention, then with the low beam light for improving the illumination of the far region in front of the vehicle, the second light beam can be lifted, and by the arrangement of the portion of the bright-dark limit of the second light beam at the traffic side no unacceptable blinding of the forwardly driving traffic occurs.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the present invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.